Stephan G. Stephansson was a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer. His original name was Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson.

He was born in Skagafjörður

Skagafjörður

Skagafjörður is a deep bay in northern Iceland.-Location:Skagafjörður is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the west and the Tjornes Peninsula to the east. There are two municipalities in the area, Skagafjörður Municipality and Akrahreppur Municipality Skagafjörður...

, Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 but emigrated to Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, USA in 1873, at age 19. In 1889 he moved to Markerville, Red Deer County, Alberta

Red Deer County, Alberta

Red Deer County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada in Division No. 8 and is where the City of Red Deer is located. The neighbouring municipalities of Red Deer County are the Clearwater County to the west, Lacombe County to the north, Stettler County to the east, and to the south are...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He did not see Iceland again until 1917, when he was 64 years old.

Stephan was self-educated and worked hard all his life. He wrote after work, and, being an insomniac, he often wrote till dawn. He was under the influence of the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...

 and they shared the same beliefs in many matters, including, but not limited to, equal rights for men and women. Stephan wrote only in Icelandic

Icelandic language

Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...

and had great influence in his former home country.

His poems were published in a six volume book called "Andvökur" (Sleepless Nights).

His letters and essays were published in four volumes, and even if nothing of his poetry had survived, those would have been enough to single him out as one of Iceland's foremost men of letters.

His homestead near Markerville is an Alberta Provincial Historic Site. It has been restored and is open to the public from May 15 until August 31.